This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7xc2xa7119 and/or 365 to 9902498-6 filed in Sweden on Jun. 30, 1999; the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a plastic-encapsulated optomodule.
Optomodules intended for telecommunications application for instance are normally encapsulated in hermetic metal capsules and are provided with a pigtail for making the optical connection. In order to be able to widen the use of optical signal transmissions it must be possible to produce components and connectors at lower costs than at present, and also to reduce the cost of mounting these components. One of the primary reasons for such high component costs is because of the extremely high mechanical precision that is required in aligning an optoelectric component with a wavequide, such as an optical fibre, and in aligning a waveguide in one component with another waveguide.
Plastic encapsulation, transfer moulding, of optomodules reduces production costs. In present day technology, a plastic capsule that includes optoelectrical components can either be provided with a fibre pigtail of varying length that consists of an optical fibre which extends out from within the component, or a device that is integrated in a capsule wall.
SE 9701833 describes a plastic encapsulated optomodule which includes an integrated optical device.
One problem encountered in the manufacture of plastic encapsulated optomodules, particularly injection moulded modules, that include an optical device integrated in the capsule wall is that the device shall be aligned and fixed in the capsule moulding tool.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate or at least reduce this problem.
This object is achieved by the present invention with a plastic encapsulated optomodule as defined by the claims.
One advantage afforded by the present invention is that no sub-module is required for the optoelectrical component.
Another advantage is that the optoelectrical component can be readily constructed, manufactured and tested relatively inexpensively.
Still another advantage is that the plastic encapsulated optomodule requires little room on a circuit board.
Another advantage is that the present invention the manufacture of new and re-constructed optomodules is facilitated through the medium of a modular construction procedure
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof and also with reference to the accompanying drawings.